


Because of Insomnia

by Anniecat



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies), X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Alex Summers is alive, I Will Go Down With This Ship, M/M, first chapter is painful but it will most likely get better
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-05
Updated: 2016-10-10
Packaged: 2018-07-12 09:38:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7097206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anniecat/pseuds/Anniecat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peter Maximoff does what he wants to, even if it's going after his teammate's brother who happens to be ten years his senior.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote most of this on my phone so please bear with me on grammatical errors

They pull a man from the wreckage at Xavier's.

Ordinarily, Peter wouldn’t care, but it’s Scott’s brother, the one he couldn’t save. Even though he knows it wasn’t  _ really _ his fault, he feels bad.

When they pull him out, he’s in a coma. Apparently, Alex survived the explosion because of his mutation, which made him impervious to heat. Or flame. Whatever. It made him not-ash when he should’ve been. However, he was not immune to several tons of rubble piled on him, hence the coma. 

Scott visited him every week. Occasionally, Peter asked him how he was doing, but that was more out of politeness than actual interest. He hadn’t actually met Alex, which was weird, he was  _ sure  _ they would’ve met at some point, yet he never had the pleasure(was it pleasure? Alex could be a colossal douche for all he knew) to share any words with him, pre-coma.

Meanwhile, in training, Peter felt like the dad of the group, being at least ten years older than the rest of the X-Men, which sickened him. He never thought he would be  _ old _ . He had also started to rank the members. Ororo was first, because she had the most control over her powers. Jean was second, being the most powerful one by far, even she didn’t quite have a handle on them. Nightcrawler was third, because his powers weren’t all that useful, but he was really trying his best. And Scott was last, because he was a total bastard. Even with a comatose brother. 

Really, Peter was not certain why everyone on the team was so young. Surely, there existed other mutants that could be trained without parental consent. Or drink alcohol without a fake I.D. Much to his dismay, this required him to spend less time with his new teammates, and more with Hank and Charles, and Raven, depending on the day. 

One night, Scott the Bastard tapped him on the shoulder when Peter was literally  _ dying  _ of insomnia and playing ping pong with himself.

“Peter, hey,” he said, distracting him long enough to miss his serve.

“What can I do for you, Scott?” he asked begrudgingly, after retrieving his ball.

“Look, I know we’re not  _ best  _ friends….” Scott began. Peter laughed.

“You don’t say?” Scott frowned.

“Alex woke up. Jean told me. I was wondering if-” He said.

“You want a ride on the Quicksilver Express, yeah? To see your brother? I guess I could do that. We’ll head out in the morning, after it’s okayed with the Professor.” Peter nodded, and served the ping pong ball again. 

“No. I have to go tonight.” Scott pressed.

“Look, I understand wanting to see your brother and all, but I don’t want to break any rules.” Under his glasses/visor contraption, Peter couldn’t see much, but he assumed Scott was staring blankly. 

“Since when do you care about breaking rules?” Scott asked, crossing his arms. Peter considered this for a second. Yes, he was trying to be less of a rebel now that he was a trademark X-Man, but honestly, it would take twenty minutes, tops. He had been itching to get out of the mansion too, and this would give him an actual reason to leave. 

“Fine. You wanna leave now? Like from here, or do you wanna get a jacket?” Peter said. Scott frowned. 

“From heres fine, thank you very much,” he said, cooly. Peter grinned, knowing that the teen had never been super-speeded anywhere. From past reviews, he knew the first time could be, nauseating, to say the least. 

In speedymode, Peter grabbed Scott and left the mansion. He knew where the hospital was, and it wasn’t that far away. In 2 seconds, maybe three, they had reached their destination. 

Peter knew that 2 am was not visiting hours, so he remembered to hide the two of them behind the divider curtain. He looked at Scott, who looked point two seconds away from vomiting. 

Luckily, there were no nurses in the room and no one heard Scott, whom Peter offered the 

nearest trashcan.

“God these painkillers are strong, I swear I just heard someone throwing up. And now I’m talking to myself. Fan-goddamn-tastic,” Peter heard a low voice murmur from the other side of the curtain. Scott ripped the curtain open and hugged his brother.

“God I’m glad you’re okay,” Scott sobbed into Alex’s shoulder. Alex weakly smiled and half hugged him with the arm that Scott hadn’t smothered. Scott stood up straight and faced his brother normally. “Sorry, I just had to see you. Jean told me you woke up.”

“Hey, buddy. Uh, how did you get here?” Peter, who was awkwardly leaning against the wall, cleared his throat.

“That’d be me,” He pushed himself off of the wall. “Peter Maximoff.” Alex nodded. 

“Ah, the famed Quicksilver. I don’t believe we’ve ever met. It’s a pleasure.” Peter’s heart fluttered at “famed’, and he felt his cheeks get a little warmer when he offered the older Summers brother a lopsided smile.

“Well, I wouldn’t say  _ famed _ …” Peter started. Thankfully, Scott interrupted Peter’s sentence before Peter turned into a flighty school girl crushing on an older boy(It's happened before. He really doesn’t like thinking about it).

“Yeah, I’d say infamous, after every twinkie in the school went missing last month,” Scott frowned. Peter shrugged. 

“What can I say? Sugar and a frightening amount of preservatives are my kryptonite. Just like terrorizing Wagner and his unfortunate disassociation with American culture is yours, Summers,” Peter shot back. Shit, Peter realized, there were two Summerses now, he would need to specify which one. Alex looked at Scott accusingly. 

“Really, dude?” Alex gave him one of those “I’m not mad, just disappointed” looks.

“Hey, twinkie thief right next to us!” Scott exclaimed. The clicking heels of a nurse passed by.

“Mr. Summers? Are you alright?” Alex motioned and mouthed  _ Leave I’ll see you tomorrow _ . Scott nodded and in speedymode, got them back to the mansion before the night shift nurse could remember she had heard a conversation, and the professor saw that Peter had left the door open(oops). 


	2. Chapter 2

When he came back from the hospital, Alex decided to stay at the school, after Xavier asked him to become a teacher there.

After getting settled with his new teaching position in something called geophysics, of which he has a master’s degree, Alex offered the new X-Men his advice in the combat area. He declined membership to the team because, as he put it, “I am thirty six years old, I will not be running around and saving the world with a bunch of teenagers.” Peter politely informed him that he was actually twenty eight, but Alex just laughed and brushed him off.

He didn’t ever enter the Danger Room, he watched from the outside with the professor. After they finished the simulation, he would offer advice to them. Most the time it was for Scott, but occasionally he would say something to Kurt or Ororo, and, rarely, to Peter himself.

They were finished for the day and Peter had already changed out of his suit, he felt a firm grip on his shoulder. Peter turned around and saw Alex behind him.

“Hey,” he began. “You did a lot better today.” Peter nodded, finally able to get over the jitters he got when he first met him.

“Yeah, thanks. Was there anything else you wanted to tell me, or, you know, um…” Peter bit his lip.

“I was wondering if you’d be interested in…”  Alex’s sentence was cut off by the sudden appearance of Kurt.

“Hello, Mr. Summers! I tried very hard this time to stay out of Ororo’s way. Did you see me?” He said, extremely eager. Alex smiled and nodded.

“Yeah, though it was mainly just a precaution to make sure you weren’t struck by lightning again.” Kurt nodded eagerly at this.

“Oh, yes, of course! Thank you very much Mr. Summers!” Kurt disappeared again, this time reappearing next to Ororo and Jean, smiling energetically. Alex turned back to Peter.

“As I was saying, I was wondering if you would be interested in subbing for my class on Thursday. I have to leave for the professor.” Peter’s heart dropped a bit, thinking that Alex might ask him out, or ask him to do something that could turn into a date. Apparently Peter paused too long (that was a first), and Alex waved a hand in front of his eyes.

“Hey, did you hear me?” Alex asked. Peter nodded quickly, shaken from his thoughts.

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Peter nodded. “But I don’t actually know about geophysics.” Alex laughed.

“Dude, you aren’t going to be teaching, you’ll be _supervising_. I trust you can make sure a bunch of fifteen year olds don’t destroy the classroom while they do a worksheet. Especially with your…” Alex paused, and looked Peter up and down. “Talents.” Peter grinned, loving when someone appreciated the superspeed.

“Alright. Just tell me when to show up,” Peter said.

“Great. Thank you so much, really.” Alex patted him on the shoulder, and brushed past him to speak with his brother.

Peter speeded off before anyone could see his face turn scarlet.

 

In fact, “Supervising” was incredibly simple. Most of the students either idolized Peter, from saving them all, or liked him, because he always hung around and offered kids snack cakes and such. Also, kids that took _Geophysics_ , for God’s sake, were not the troublemaking type. By the end of the day, Peter had 30 worksheets turned in with a smile or frown, which Peter chalked up as a success. Alex returned at five that afternoon, with a seven year old girl with orange hair and eyes to match. Apparently, she threw javelins made of fire, and the professor thought someone impervious to heat would be good at calming her down. When he returned, Alex found Peter immediately.

“Hey, Peter, this is Courtney,” he told Peter. He then kneeled down to where he was face to face with her. “Courtney, this is my friend Peter. He’s a mutant too.” She peered at Peter with her fiery eyes, and glowed.

“Hi, it’s very nice to meet you. Do you like flowers?” Courtney nodded, her orange curls bobbing up and down. Peter rushed down to the garden, where the professor was having a conversation with Hank. He pushed Hank aside, and found what he was looking for. He picked the orange tulip, and returned to Alex and Courtney.

“How did you get that so fast? Can you make things appear?” She exclaimed, after Peter gifted her the tulip. While she was still marveling at the flower, Alex looked at Peter and gave him a smile that melted Peter’s heart instantly.

“No, Peter is really fast. He went and picked that flower out of…” Alex looked at Peter to finish his sentence.

“Xavier’s garden. I’m sure he won’t miss one tulip,” Peter smiled at her, Courtney beaming. Peter saw the professor’s wheelchair in the doorway. “Look, there he is now.”

Hank and Xavier met the three of them halfway through the hallway, which was vacant that time of day.

“Hello, you must be Courtney. I’m Professor Charles Xavier, and this is my colleague, Hank McCoy. I see you’ve met Mr. Summers and Peter. Already corrupting her, are you?” Xavier raised an eyebrow at him.

“Oh, no, Peter has been very nice! He got me this flower.” Courtney looked panicked, as if she were afraid that she had gotten Peter in trouble.

“Oh yes, very pretty. I recognize it from my garden. Thankfully, I’m not too worried about one tulip. Courtney, if you’ll come with me and Hank to my office.” She nodded, and trailed behind Xavier and Hank, looking back and waving goodbye to Peter.

After they left, Alex turned to Peter.

“Thank you for watching my class. Were they okay?” Alex asked, putting a hand on Peter’s forearm.

“Yeah, they were awesome. Most of them like me, except for Elisabeth. She’s got something up her ass,” Alex frowned.

“She’s not that bad, she just likes order. Which, as I say it out loud, is the opposite of you, which makes sense,” He reasoned, taking his hand off of Peter’s arm to brush his hair out of his eyes, then returning his hand to Peter’s arm.

“I wanted to invite you to dinner, Saturday.” Peter’s heart stopped, and his eyes widened. He swallowed.

“Like, a date?” He said.

“Well, yeah,” Alex answered, frowning slightly. “Unless you’re not interested.” Peter shook his head.

“No, no, it sounds fun. Yeah, I’d like to.”

“What the hell, Alex?” Scott stormed in next to them. “I thought you weren’t like this anymore! And now you’re involving my teammates?” Scott shoved his brother.

“Scott, we’ve talked about this. I…”

“No, this is, you know what? Shut up, I don’t want to talk to you.” Scott left, leaving the two of them. Peter shifted his weight awkwardly. Alex glanced back at Scott, who was almost out of sight.

“I should…” Alex gestured with slightly teary eyes.

“Yeah,” Peter mumbled, then sped off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Admit it, you thought the constant ellipses and interruptions were annoying.


	3. Chapter 3

 

Peter found Alex an hour later in his classroom.

“Listen, I’m really sorry about what happened with Scott, I didn’t know that he had a problem with you liking dudes,” he said, fiddling with his goggles, a nervous tick that he developed over his many, super speeding years.

“No, it’s not your fault, you don’t need to apologize,” Alex responded quietly, while writing something on the paper on his desk.

“Did you talk to him?” Peter asked.

“Look, Peter, this is a family thing, I’d rather you stay out of this,” Alex snapped, making Peter step back. Alex sighed and massaged his temple.

“Peter, that’s not what I meant. It’s, I mean, I’ve fought this battle my entire life, and I didn’t think I would have to with my own brother.” Peter nodded.

“I get it. I have a little sister. I’d just be, crushed if she…” Peter trailed off, which gave Alex the opportunity to finish his sentence for him.

“Acted like a complete asshole about your sexuality? Yeah, I bet you would be,” Alex griped. Peter remained silent, pressing his lips together. Alex’s eyes were focused on the papers on his desk.

The room remained quiet for a while, save the scrawling of pen and the rearranging of papers. He glanced up at Peter.

“Don’t you have anywhere to be?” Peter shrugged, and shoved his hands in the pockets of his silver jacket, which had been replaced since the last ordeal in which it was destroyed.

“Not really. Mystique gave us the week off, and I don’t actually have any authority here, so…” Peter admitted. Alex, still showing signs of hostility from earlier, begrudgingly waved him over to his desk.

“If you’re going to stay, you might as well be useful. Grade these; here’s the answer key,” he instructed, handing Peter a thick stack of papers. Peter reached for a chair and pulled it up close to Alex’s.

“You know I could finish this in like, two seconds, right?” Peter remarked. He sat down, waiting for the older man’s answer.

“Yes. You could,” he stated, returning to his own three-inch stack of assignments. “Pens are in that jar.” Tentatively, Peter reached for one, leaning over the table. Alex’s eyes did not wander from his paper, except to glance up as Peter’s perplexed eyes. Why wasn’t he grabbing his ass, or trying to violate him in some way? He sat back down, amazed by how Alex was treating him. He was unlike any of Peter’s past endeavors, all of which treated him like shit.

It didn’t feel like that with Alex. Alex was warm and comforting. Even before, when he snapped at Peter, he didn’t feel like he was in any real danger, which was ironic, given Alex’s abilities.

Alex made Peter feel safe, and Peter hated admitting it. He shouldn’t have these kinds of feelings about someone he’s only known for a month, he reasoned with himself. But honestly, Alex was one of the nicest people he had ever met, with a voice like honey, and one of the brightest smiles Peter had ever seen. His eyes weren’t a terrifying storm like Raven’s, which one look could turn you to stone. They were more like soft pools of turquoise. He knew the real reason Alex was always asked to retrieve young mutants, and it wasn’t because he could handle some of the more dangerous ones. It was because kids tended to trust him, with his “I’m a dad with no children” vibe he gave off.

As if on cue with his thoughts, the girl Alex had brought in earlier, Courtney, walked in.

“Hello, I was looking for you, Mr. Peter,” She chattered happily. Alex and Peter looked up, which Courtney took as an invitation to approach the desk. She stopped right in front of Peter’s chair, and Alex returned to his work after he saw that she wanted to talk to Peter, not him.

“Hey, Court. How’s your first day been going?” Peter asked, adding a smile that made Courtney turn scarlet.

“Fine. Professor Xavier’s nice, I guess, but Mr. McCoy is a little, I don’t know, weird,” She confessed, shifting her mouth to the side.

“Ah, don’t worry, that’s what everyone thinks when they first meet McCoy,” Peter laughed.

“Yeah, I remember meeting him for the first time. God, I used to hate him,” Alex added, briefly looking up from his work. Peter laughed a little.

“Oh, yeah, you’ve known him, wow, like twenty years? I can’t imagine teenage Hank,” Peter joked.

“He was exactly the same. Except he wasn’t originally blue, he just had weird feet,” he answered. Courtney cleared her throat, and the two turned their attention back to her.

“I wanted to ask you if you’re coming to dinner,” Courtney said sweetly, with hope welling in her eyes. Peter looked at Alex, searching for confirmation. Alex’s face had no indication of his feelings about it. After a split second decision, Peter turned back to Courtney.

“I’m sorry, I promised Alex I’d have dinner with him, and help him finish grading,” he professed. Courtney frowned. “Next time,” he then assured. Courtney solemnly exited the classroom.

“Wow, I don’t think a guy has ever rejected a small child with a crush on him, for me,” Alex began. “Also, I’m pretty sure I said Saturday.” He smirked. Peter looked down bashfully.

“I, um, just thought…” Peter stammered. Alex laughed, and gripped Peter’s shoulder firmly. Peter’s breath hitched for a second. Before he lost his nerve, he grabbed Alex’s neck and pulled him into a kiss. It was soft and slow, and though caught off guard, Alex was obviously much more experienced than Peter. Alex broke it off after a few seconds with narrowed eyes.

“What was that?” he remarked, with a hint of anger in his words. Peter blinked the post-kiss haze away from his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I was just wondering what it would be like.” Alex looked confused, raising his eyebrow.

“What, kissing me? I imagine it’s a fairly standard sensation.” Peter shook his head.

“No,” he replied. “It’s not.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah this chapter kinda got away from me


	4. Chapter 4

After four weeks of dating Alex, Peter determined that they were officially “boyfriends”. Which was proving to be a foreign concept to Peter. He really didn't know what to do around a boyfriend, especially one that he saw so often.

At that moment, Peter was in his room, waiting for Alex to come by after he finished his class. Many times they would greet each other in a not school appropriate way,  concerning a few of the fellow teachers, and worse,  Xavier. After a few unfortunate run-ins with him, they decided not to meet in the school.

Peter was lying on his bed, finishing a box of Ding Dongs. He looked at the clock. Peter knew that often, he had a distorted concept of time, due to the speed his thoughts. But Alex was most definitely late.

He was tempted to go down to his classroom to see if he was still teaching, but after Peter had done it several times when Alex _wasn't_ late, so the Alex had asked Peter to refrain from interrupting his class.

Peter heard two voices in the hall. Peter immediately recognized it as Scott and Jean.

“Look, we both know this isn’t really about Alex being gay. It’s about you trying to cling to non-mutant society,” Jean lectured, making Scott groan. Peter had forgotten that Alex and Scott had not yet reconciled from their previous falling out. He leaned in a little closer to the door.

“I told you not to mess with my head anymore,” Scott grumbled. Peter didn’t move an inch.

“You really need to talk to him, or you’ll lose him. I mean, I don’t think he’s gonna change because you're refusing to talk to him. He’s been dating Peter for like, a month now.” Scott scoffed.

“Oh yeah, _Peter,_ that’s rich.”

“What does that mean?” Jean implored.

“It means that Peter is his revenge on me. Yeah, maybe he was interested at first, but I assure you that now Alex is just stringing him along to make me mad. As soon as I buckle, he’ll dump him.” Peter almost choked.

“So you admit you’re just being stubborn!” Jean exclaimed. Scott sighed.

“We’re gonna be late,” he mumbled in defeat.

Peter stayed motionless in shock. Was Scott telling the truth? Was Alex just dating him to prove a point? Peter pulled his shaking legs up to his chest.

Peter was no stranger to being used. Every boyfriend he had ever had used him in some way, mostly for theft and sex, but he had never been dated to piss someone off. This was a whole new concept to him, and it made him nervous. He didn’t know how long it was going to last. Guys who wanted him to steal kept him until he got caught. Guys who wanted him for sex kept him until Peter started saying no. But now, Peter was in the dark on this, and it scared the shit out of him.

Then he felt every single fear, panic, qualm, dismay, and horror seep into his veins, enveloping every limb. It wasn’t even about Alex anymore, it was just anxiety itself pushing Peter into the state he was in. As soon as he could figure out what was happening, and what he knew was going to happen, he shut the door and let the attack wash over him.

Alex walked in a few minutes later.

“Hey, Peter, are you alright?” Alex sat next to him and put a hand on the back of his neck. “Peter, babe, are you okay?” Peter swallowed, and turned his head to Alex.

“I heard Scott talking andhesaidyouwereonlydatingmetogetbackathimandthatyouweregonnadumpmeafterheapologizes,” Peter explained, unable to control the slurring that tended to happen after an anxiety attack. “Andthatmademybrainworktoofastanditmademehaveananxietyattack. Alex sighed, and pulled Peter’s rigid body close to him in a comforting embrace. Peter let himself relax a bit, but kept his knees against his chest.

“Scott is an _asshole_. You and I both know this,” Alex said, while stroking Peter’s hair. Peter leaned into the gentle touches. He slowed his breathing to a normal speed.

“I’m sorry,” Peter murmured against Alex’s chest. He didn’t have anxiety attacks often anymore, but they had increased in severity when they did happen. Thankfully, Peter had gotten to the point where he didn’t lose control of his super speed when he had one. He knew that his anxiety was nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, with someone who had as many psychological issues as Peter, he was surprised he _only_ had clinical anxiety.

Still, he hated looking weak in front of people, especially romantic ventures.

“Hey, no, it's not your fault,” Alex consoled, pressing his lips to the top of Peter’s head. It occurred to him that he had not known Alex long enough to have broken down in front of him, and that poor Alex, being the horribly kind soul he was, had to deal with Peter. Normally, Peter would have given instructions before there were any incidents, but in his efforts woo Alex, he left out all of the bad parts of himself.

Peter’s heart slowed down enough for him to finally push away from Alex and talk to him. He leaned against his pillow.

“I should have told you about my, uh, problems. I know you don't want to deal with that,” Peter said, staring in no particular direction. Alex gave him a hurt look.

“Do I look so shallow and self-absorbed that I can't help my boyfriend get through an anxiety attack? Come on, I thought you knew me better than that,” Alex replied.

“People I’ve known for years have freaked out before. I didn’t know how you would react. It’s not anything against you, it's just been a pattern, okay?” Peter snapped, shying away from Alex. Alex nodded.

“I understand. But this seems like a real issue; have you asked Charles about it?” Peter frowned.

“No. I don't want his help. And besides, he can’t help me, my head works too fast for him to get anything useful,” Peter muttered, and took a deep breath, returning his gaze to Alex. “I know we had something planned for tonight, but I'm not feeling up to it anymore.  Can we just, watch a movie or something?”

“Of course.” Peter shifted back into Alex’s warm arms, and buried his head in his chest. “Peter?”

“Yeah?”

“I won't abandon you. I swear. Even with anxiety attacks, and anything that might happen to you.”

“Uh huh,” Peter mumbled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually got halfway through writing this and realized no actual anxiety attack happened.
> 
> Whoops.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the brevity of this chapter, Comic Con is tomorrow, and I'm a lil stressed.
> 
> Also I'm sorry to that guy that I said calm yo ass to.

Peter woke up the next morning  curled up next to Alex. He only had his boxers on, but didn't remember taking his clothes off, so he assumed Alex had taken them off after Peter had fallen asleep in his post-attack exhaustion. 

Peter felt Alex’s fingers rub circles into his back.

“Morning,” Alex mumbled into Peter's hair. 

“Thanks for staying with me last night. And, uh, I guess for taking off my jeans too,” Peter said back. “Here, let me get my hair out of your-”

“Nope. I like the way it smells,” Alex protested, sliding his hand around Peter’s waist and pulled him closer to him. Peter laughed.

“Seriously, I have to get ready. And don’t you have a class or something?”

“Not for another,” Alex checked his watch. “Two hours.” Alex leaned over Peter and kissed him, slow and sweet, and slightly comforting. Peter let his lips form a goofy smile. 

“Alright, alright,” Peter agreed. He took in a breath. They stayed that way for a minute. “Nope, I don’t like this, it's weird.” Peter squirmed a little, which made Alex grip him even tighter. For a thirty-six year old man, Alex was surprisingly strong.

“Come on, babe, just for a few minutes. I know you hate sitting still, but I like being so close to you,” Alex whined. Truth be told, Peter loved the feeling of Alex’s warm hands against his bare stomach, and his muscular torso pressed up next to Peter’s back, but he didn't want him to have the satisfaction of knowing that Peter liked _ some _ of the aspects of morning cuddling. 

Peter flipped over,  and touched their noses together, and pecked him on the lips. “What if we did something  _ else _ in the next hour?” Peter countered mischievously. 

Alex sighed and turned onto his back. 

“I'd rather our first time together be under more, uh, special circumstances,” Alex said, while Peter caressed Alex's now-exposed hip with his head rested on his bicep. 

“What do you mean?” Peter frowned, becoming more invested in the massaging of Alex's lower abdomen. 

“I mean, when we  _ do  _ have sex, I am going to take you out to dinner beforehand, at a really nice restaurant, like the kind with prices that make you feel guilty about ordering.” Alex paused a second to brush the silver strings of hair out of Peter's eyes. “Then, we're gonna go to my room, because I'll have candles, and roses, and all of that cliché shit waiting.”

“Music? “ Peter offered. 

“Oh yeah. And then, after you're all entranced by the romantic gesture, I'll grab you by the shoulders, and kiss you, slow at first, then-” Peter retracted his palm, which had been resting comfortably on Alex's stomach.

“Listen, I love hearing about all of your plans,  but it will get _ very _ awkward if I don't leave right now and take a cold shower,” Peter admitted. Alex laughed. 

“Alright, leave.” Red faced and embarrassed, Peter slid out of the bed and grabbed his towel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did anyone else realize there's no discernible plot in this? Because I did.


	6. Chapter 6

 

“What's having a boyfriend like?” Ororo asked one night. Kurt appeared next to her, nodding.

“What do you mean?” Peter said while adjusting the strap on his goggles. Ororo shrugged.

“I don't know, like, is it like the movies? Does Mr. Summers surprise you with a boom box outside your window?” Peter laughed a little at the formality she used to refer to Alex.  

“Well no, not really. That's more for when you're trying to get the girl, not when you're actually dating,” Peter explained. Kurt looked confused.

“Wait, you are a girl? I thought…”

“No, no, I was trying to say that that's stuff you do before you're in a relationship, whatever the gender. Once you're in a relationship, I don't know, it's not as many grand gestures of love,” Peter shrugged. Ororo frowned.

“So you don't like it?” Peter sighed and shook his head.

“It’s not that I don't like it, it’s just… It's less exciting, and more, comfortable, like, because you're not always trying to impress each other. It's a different kind of nice,” Peter said. As if on cue, Peter felt Alex’s warm hand snake around his shoulders.

“Hey,” he whispered, while pressing his lips to Peter's neck, underneath his ear. Peter giggled.

“Stop it, not now,” Peter scolded playfully. Ororo pulled Kurt away after the two got a little too graphic. “Seriously, man, stop it,” Peter grinned, while pushing Alex off of him.

“No way, a little blue bird said that you would be going on your first mission next week. You might not come back, you know,” Alex joked.

“Oh, shut up don't make me nervous. And it's pretty safe, we're just breaking up that mutant fight club that Kurt was a part of. They regrouped in Paris,” Peter explained.

“Alright, still, be careful. You can be a bit reckless at times,” Alex said. Peter frowned and kissed Alex.

“Of course. For you,” Peter promised.

\-------------------

Peter got himself shot in the back.

He was being stupid. He hadn't been watching, and it gets him before Jean could stop it. Kurt took him back to the plane, and Peter passed out right as Hank started to give him medical attention.

When he woke up, he was in the hospital. He looked at the I.V. in his arm, and cursed himself for not moving out of the way of the bullet.

“Hey, Peter. I thought I told you to be careful.” Peter blinked the sleep away from his eyes to see a very ragged looking Alex sitting in the chair next to him.

“I'm sorry, you know me,” Peter croaked, reaching for Alex’s hand. “Love you,” he joked, while attempting to skills. All he managed was a slight pull off his lips that resembled a smirk. Hank cleared his throat.

“Uh, hi,” Hank interrupted. Peter turned his head to him. “So you're gonna be off your feet for a few weeks. We’ll move you back to the mansion, but you'll be in your bed probably about two weeks. No running, no walking. No, uh, _other_ activities,” he explained, looking between Alex and Peter nervously. Peter attempted to snicker, but his abdomen started to hurt again. Hank pulled out an X-ray.

“Anyway, you got hit in your lower left pelvic quadrant. It didn't hit any vitals, but much of the shock was absorbed by your pelvis, which shattered much of your upper and lower left quadrants, but there are a few cracks in your lower right. We already operated, but…” Hank trailed off while pinning the x-rays to the light board. Peter swiveled his neck to the side in concern.

“What? What's wrong?” Peter asked frantically.

“We placed a lot of pins to keep your bones in place, but the added mass could, uh, slow you down.” Peter’s eyes narrowed.

“Explain,” Peter demanded.

“One of the factors of your mutation is the weight you have to carry. You automatically adjust for external weight, like clothing and um, people, but internal weight is a different story. I'm not sure how your body will adjust for the mass that the pins add,” Hank explained. Peter scoffed.

“Are you kidding? Those pins must be like, half an ounce. I’ve gained weight before, it shouldn't be that big of a deal,” Peter said, attempting to sit up a little more.

“That's the thing Peter; you haven't, actually. Maybe before your mutation manifested, but you first showed signs of super speed at fifteen?” Peter nodded.

“Well, I’ve checked your medical records, and you haven’t gained an ounce since you were fifteen,” Hank revealed. “Now, obviously that means it is a secondary mutation, but I'm not sure if it affects your speed, or if it's just a product of your metabolism. If it does affect it, honestly, I don't know what it might do. Your body might automatically adjust, like for external mass, or it might compensate by slowing you down. But we’ll find out in a few weeks, I guess. Get some rest, try not to move too much. We’ll take you back home in three days,” Hank informed, getting up to leave. He shut the door behind him carefully, leaving Alex and Peter alone.

Peter turned his head back to Alex. “You look like shit,” he remarked. It wasn’t a lie; his eyes looked like a mix of red and droopy, like he hasn’t found time to sleep because he had been crying. His hair wasn’t neatly combed like normal. Peter wasn’t exactly sure how long he had been asleep, but judging by the stubble on Alex’s jaw, Peter estimated at least three days.

“Shut up, I've been worried about you,” Alex frowned, and Peter could see a tear forming in his eye. Peter reached out and brushed it off, sliding his thumb across Alex’s cheekbone.

“I'll be fine. If I got anything from Erik, it's his drive. I'll get better, I promise.” Alex grimaced.

“Last time you promised, you got shot,” Alex reminded Peter.

“Yeah, that's fair. But this time, it'll be okay,” Peter assured. “Now, you really need to go. I think visiting hours are over.” Alex kissed him on the forehead.

“I'll be back tomorrow, my love,” Alex promised, blowing him a kiss on the way out.

“You better be,” Peter mused, dozing off not long after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long, Denver Comic Con happened, then Anton Yelchin died, and then my cat died two days later. It was not a good three days.
> 
> But on the plus side, I got to take a picture with John Barrowman, and he really liked my costume(I was in Jupiter Jones's wedding dress). He asked for a second picture for himself. It was cool.


	7. Chapter 7

Peter went crazy two weeks into his healing process. He regained use of his legs, and the upper part of his torso, but he was still restricted to his bed, save assisted bathroom trips. At first, it was nice, not having to train, and adjusting the inevitable errand teachers asked when they saw him in the hall. But after a while, Peter couldn't stand sitting so still all if the time, only seeing others in spotty visits that they made time for.

He didn't see Alex as much anymore. It was nearing Christmas, meaning finals and extra credit were keeping the older mutant from spending time with his injured boyfriend.

Surprisingly enough, he saw Scott the most. Apparently, while Peter was holed up in his room, he and Alex had worked through some issues, many of which had nothing to do with Peter in the first place. When he wasn't being such a bastard, Scott was actually a nice guy.

Hank came in with new x-rays that afternoon. “Great news. You can walk tomorrow.” Peter's eyes shot open.

“What?” Peter turned his head to the side.

“Due to your healing,” he began. “Your pelvis is mostly heal. Of course, you'll still to be on crutches, but you can leave your bed.” Hank told him. Peter grinned.

“Are you serious? I can leave? Wait, what's the catch?” Peter asked, his eyes darting around to substitute running, his normal outlet when his mind started to speed up.

“No superspeed. Not until you're fully healed. But nothing else, as far as I can tell. You'll be free to go.” Peter squirmed, itching to get out. He began to lift one of his legs out of his bed.

“Wait, no, not yet. Tomorrow. I promise,” Hank insisted. Peter grimaced, and begrudgingly covered up his leg with his bed sheet once more. Hank stayed long enough to see that Peter wasn't going to try and escape again, then left with Peter's x-rays again.

The next morning, Hank, with the assistance of Kurt (who was surprisingly strong), helped Peter stand up and onto his crutches, which happened to be the same ones he used when his leg was broken. Upon settling onto them, Peter began to remember the utter horror of using crutches. However, painful as it may be, Peter was still excited to be able to move again.

“Alright, where do you want to go first?” Kurt asked, with a hand still gripping Peter's shoulder to support him.

“Outside. Actually, well, no. Outside,” Peter decided, momentarily considering seeing Alex first. Then he remembered that he had a class at the time, and decided to visit with him later.

Kurt and Hank helped him exit the room, his legs still a bit weak from weeks of inactivity, but after a few shaky steps, he started to walk more comfortably.

He slowly moved down the stairs, trying to keep as much weight off of his legs as possible. Peter still wasn't sure why _crutches_ were the best option for a shattered _pelvis_ , but when he asked Hank about it, he started explaining super sciencey stuff that he didn't understand.

A student passes them in the hall. “Hey, Peter! You're on crutches now?” She grinned. Peter nodded.

“Yeah, for about, uh, five minutes now,” he replied, pitching his weight forward onto the crutches.

“Ten minutes,” Hank corrected. The girl waved, and Peter sighed and continued to descend the stairs.

He managed to make it down the stairs with little help.

“I think I've got it, thanks,” Peter assured. Kurt nodded and disappeared, and Hank smiled and left to go wherever, leaving Peter alone to go about his day.

The clicking of his crutches echoed eerily. Because of the time of day, most students were in class. The few that dotted the hall were going to the restroom, or running an errand for a teacher. A few looked over at Peter and smiled, or murmured encouraging sentiments as he walked past. He did go outside eventually, but then realized it was extremely cold and returned inside almost immediately.

At last, it reached the time of Alex’s planning period, which Peter routinely hijacked enough to know that he would be at his desk instead of the department workroom, where teachers were generally encouraged to spend their planning periods, but Alex adamantly refused to leave the classroom. He claimed it was so students could find him easily, but Peter was pretty sure it was because he didn't like the other science teachers.

Peter stopped in front of the classroom door. Alex was speaking to a brunette lady, who had exaggerated gestures and looked extremely angry. Next to her was a small girl, who had dirty blonde hair pulled into pigtails. Peter cracked open the door as quietly as possible, yet all heads in the room whipped around.

“Hey, Peter. I’ll be with you in a second,” Alex said, using what Peter knew to be his voice that he used to deal with students.

“Who’s that?” The woman demanded.

“It's my, that's Peter,” Alex stumbled nervously. Peter gave the woman a curt wave.

“Listen. Hailey _specifically_ asked to spend Christmas with you. It's like, a week. You can handle it,” she chided. “She’s got all of her stuff. I'll be here next Thursday to pick her up.” The woman exited briskly. Peter stepped out of her way.

After the lady left, Alex pulled the little girl, who looked delighted, into his lap. He looked up at Peter. “You can come in now,” he said. Peter hobbled closer to the desk.

“So, uh, who was that?” Peter asked, trying to sound nonchalant, although there were definite notes of concern in his words.

“That was Meredith, my ex. This is Hailey, my daughter,” he informed Peter, not a hint of hesitation or embarrassment in his voice. Peter paled to a ghostly white.

“Oh,” he said, his voice squeaking. “I didn’t know you had a daughter.” Hailey buried her face into her father's chest.

“She’s a little bit shy. Hailey, sweetie, this is my boyfriend, Peter. Say hi, sweetie.” She turned her head slightly so her mouth was uncovered, and Peter could hear a tiny voice say hi. Peter stepped a little closer to Hailey.

“It's, um, nice to meet you, Hailey,” Peter said, holding out his hand for her to shake. She huddled closer to Alex.

“Hailey’s gonna be staying with me during Christmas,” Alex told Peter, while petting the blonde strings on his daughter's head.

“I just, uh, wanted to see you, because I just got onto crutches. Free to move about the building and all,” Peter told him. “I’ll, uh, go now.” Peter took a step back so he would have enough room to maneuver himself around to the door.

“No, no, don’t leave. I haven't seen you in a while, you being stuck in a room, and me, tied up in midterms and stuff. It's alright.” Peter pulled a chair from one of the work tables and leaned his crutches against the wall.

“So you get to spend Christmas with your dad, huh?” Peter said to Hailey. She nodded shakily. “That's cool. I never got to spend any holidays with my dad. I mean, even if I knew him back when I was a kid, we would have celebrated Hanukkah. He’s Jewish.” Hailey turned around slightly.

“My friend Emma is Jewish. She lights a weird candle thing. Do you light the candle thing?” She inquired. Peter shook his head.

“The menorah? No, my mom’s Catholic. We would have Christmas every year,” Peter told Hailey. She smiled.

“Hey, sweetie, do you want to look around the school?” Alex asked Hailey, brushing a few flyaways out of her eyes.

“Yeah. Can Peter come too?” She requested. Alex glanced up at Peter.

“I guess, if he wants to.” Peter shrugged.

“Sure, if you’d like.” Hailey smiled at him. Alex lifted Hailey off of his lap. He stood up and helped Peter up (even though Peter didn't need it), and grabbed Hailey’s small hand.

“Come on, let's go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took too damn long to write.


	8. Chapter 8

Just a quick question, y'all still reading this? Because if you are ill update, but i wont bother if youre not


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here ya go you lil shits

Peter realized he completely forgot how to act around seven year old girls. His little sister had long since grown up, and the usual boyish charm that he often used to impress small girls, (i.e., Courtney) had no effect when they turned away every time he tried to say something. To be perfectly honest, he wasn't too crazy about Hailey. She wasn't very friendly, Courtney and her friend, Abi, made several attempts to socialize with her. Honestly, she was a little bit ungrateful, constantly whining when Alex couldn't give her attention at _every_ second of the day. Peter would never say this to Alex, of course. But he had made his personal judgments of the small girl, and he didn't plan on changing them unless something drastic happened.

Hailey poked Peter at breakfast the first morning she spent at Xavier’s. _Why is she so sticky?_ Peter thought to himself.

“Peter?” She says in a quiet voice. “Where is my daddy? Do you know where he is?” Peter looked at her, blue eyes already disappointed. Now that Peter thought of it, she probably only saw her father once a year, at most. Peter thought back to his own days as a seven year old, wondering why he didn't have a dad. Then on his eighth birthday, his hair started to turn white and it all started to go to shit, but Peter still remembers a time when the most of his worries were centered around, “Why doesn't _Peter_ have a daddy?” in elementary school.

And Peter realized why she acted the way she did. But honestly, he wasn't able to do anything.

“I don't know, he’s probably, uh, grading papers or something. Would you like to go find him?” Hailey nodded earnestly.

Peter stood up and motioned for Hailey to follow him. Unexpectedly, Hailey reached for his left hand. Surprised, Peter looked down at Hailey, who didn’t seem to notice the significance of the action. Peter got out of his seat and grabbed his crutches, releasing the girls hand. Peter led her out into the hallway.

“I, I thought he might be with you since he likes you so much but then I thought maybe because you can’t walk good right now that maybe he would be somewhere else and then I remembered he teaches kids so maybe he’d be there but then I got lost,” Hailey explained to Peter, slightly blurring her onslaught of words together, much like how Peter did when he got worked up. Peter nodded, and Hailey paused a second to wait for him to catch up.

“He should be in his classroom, but if not, he could be in the staff housing-” Peter began, quickly interrupted by Hailey.

“Do you know if Santa comes here? Because my mama said that if I write a letter to him then he'll bring me what I want, but I'm scared that he will forget that I'm here for Christmas, and not at my house. Is there even a chimney here? Because it's not a house, it's a school.” She babbled, looking around a little bit to look for a chimney, Peter assumed.

“Oh, it does, somewhere. It used to be the professor's house, then he renovated it into a school,” Peter assured. A wave of relief passed over Hailey’s face.

“I want a kitty. Like a baby one. I'm gonna name it Cinderella, because she's my favorite princess, and I'm gonna give her a little black collar like Cinderella’s necklace,” Hailey explained to Peter. He smiled back understandingly, even though he knew that none of the presents she was getting was the kitten she had just described.

Peter turned to the science hallway with comfortable familiarity, and reached the door that opened into Alex’s class. Hailey happily opened the door for Peter (even though she nearly couldn't reach it), and ran instantly to her father.

“Hey, Hailes, I was just about to get you.”

“I asked Peter where you were and he said that you might be here so he took me here,” she said, barely pausing in between her words.

“That’s very nice of him. Did you tell him thank you?” Hailey shook her head.

“Thank you, Peter,” She yelled over her shoulder. “Will you braid my hair now?” She asked, returning her gaze to her dad. He looked at her, and let out a comical sigh.

“Did you eat breakfast?” She shook her head bashfully. Alex frowned.

“You go eat. Can you get back to the dining hall by yourself?”

“Yeah,” she responded. She scampered off. Once the door had shut again, Peter turned back to Alex.

“So…” Peter started. “You, uh, have a daughter. And an ex.” Alex frowns and looks down.

“I was meaning to tell you, just… It never seems like the right time to bring it up,” Alex said. Peter remained silent, a rare happening in his life.

“Look, after I got back from Vietnam, there was a lot of pressure on me to get my life together. So I finished my degree, and met Meredith, and, you know. I didn't really love her, I just, I needed to keep up an image for my parents. Then she found out that I was a mutant, and then she filed for divorce.” Peter stayed silent for a few more seconds.

“Is she a mutant?” Peter asked. Alex shook his head.

“No. As soon as Meredith found out about me she had her tested. I honestly don't know what she would've done if Hailey _was_.”

“How often do you see her?” Peter asked, fiddling with the bottom of his shirt.  

“Every six months, I guess,” Alex shrugged.

“Do you talk to her any other time?” Peter continued.

“Not really, no,” He sighed, getting up out of his chair.

“You should. I know what it's like to be forgotten. It feels like shit,” Peter said, turning around.

  
Christmas passed quickly, and Peter hadn’t spoken to Alex since. But there's a small stuffed kitten waiting for Hailey on Christmas day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's verb tense? And continuity?  
> Also my stripper name is gonna be Paradyse.

**Author's Note:**

> Is this title in reference to the insomnia in the fic or the fact that it was written at 1 am because I took heavily caffeinated pain meds? The world may never know.


End file.
